English-Arabic Familiar

If English is your primary language, part of grasping a new lougha (loo-rah; language) is creating connections between the kalimaat (kah-lee-maht; words) of the lougha, in this case Arabic, and English. You may be surprised to hear that quite a few English words trace their origins to Arabic. For example, did you know that “magazine,” “candy,” and “coffee” are actually Arabic words?

Below lists some familiar English words with Arabic origins.

	Arabic Origins of English Words
English	Arabic Origin	Arabic Meaning
admiral	amir al-baHr	Ruler of the Sea
alcohol	al-kuHul	a mixture of powdered antimony
alcove	al-qubba	a dome or arch
algebra	al-jabr	to reduce or consolidate
almanac	al-manakh	a calendar
arsenal	daar As-SinaaH	house of manufacture
azure	al-azward	lapis lazuli
candy	qand	cane sugar
coffee	qahwa	coffee
cotton	quTun	cotton
elixir	al-iksiir	philosopher’s stone
gazelle	ghazaal	gazelle
hazard	az-zahr	dice
magazine	al-makhzan	a storehouse; a place of storage
mattress	matraH	a place where things are thrown
ream	rizma	a bundle
saffron	za’fran	saffron
Sahara	SaHraa’	desert
satin	zaytuun	Arabic name for a Chinese city

	sherbet	sharaba		to drink
	sofa	Sofaa		a cushion
	sugar	sukkar		sugar
	zero	Sifr		zero

As you can see from the table, Arabic has had a major influence on the English language. Some English words such as “admiral” and “arsenal” have an indirect Arabic origin, whereas others, such as “coffee” and “cotton,” are exact matches! The influence runs the other way, too, especially when it comes to relatively contemporary terms. For example, the word tilifizyuun (tee-lee-fee-zee-yoon; television) comes straight from the word “television.” As is often the case with languages, Arabic and English tend to influence each other, and that’s what makes studying them so much fun!